Rabbi Rader’s Sermons

Let’s talk about a young man sitting in a cafe on the Boulevard Montmartre in Paris in the autumn of 1881, with no idea his…

What the 80 Percent Can Teach Us About the Omer’s Spiritual Meaning Standing at the edge of the ocean for Beach Shabbat last Friday night,…

Here is a story about Hanukah I bet you’ve never heard, maybe for good reason! It’s about a Jewish woman named Judith; she lives in…

This is probably the most predictable sermon of all time … but I think it’s important for us to address that little thing called the…

There’s a story that Cheryl Strayed tells about her mother that has stayed with me, and I believe it speaks to something profound about love,…

Anyone who has been in my car or my house lately knows about my obsession with Israeli music. Jewish music has always been a thing…

My favorite part of the week is coming to Neshamah Hebrew school on Sunday mornings.  Nothing is more uplifting than seeing our students, some in…

Dear Dr. Weiss,  Hello. Nice to meet you. My name is Jo Nagai. I’m from Kobe, Japan. I’m in the second grade at Ibuki Elementary…

Are you wearing a watch? Do you need an alarm to wake up? Do you have an internal clock? I cannot sleep without a clock…

  Even before October 7, 2024, I wanted to share this story with you. It’s about a war … in Israel … but mostly it’s…

  Shalom Friends,  I know we are all still struggling with the reality of war in Israel and threatening anti-semitism around the world. These are…

Shalom Friends, It has been a horrific period. We are reeling from the massacres in Israel and the reality of war. I’ve heard myself and…

  Shanah Tovah Friends, Recently, I spent a full Shabbat at a local Delray Beach hotel with our Neshamah leadership team. It was the first…

  Shalom Friends, I imagine this will sound obvious, but science is pretty amazing. Especially the science of outer-space which makes me feel both tiny…

  Shalom Friends, I just love it when traditions overlap. I learned recently that there is a Filipino custom to send gift boxes from family…

  The Book of Exodus begins in a strange way. It tells us that the current Pharoah doesn’t know of Joseph and his family.  We…

  This is the season of “best of” lists. I was surprised to see that on one list the Best Actor of all time was…

  Shalom Friends, Did you know that in Ethiopia, Christmas is celebrated on January 7?  Yes, that’s correct. The Ethiopian Orthodox Church – along with…

  Shalom Friends, How long do you think it would take to read the whole Torah, out loud, from start to finish? And why would…

  Shalom Friends & Shanah Tovah! What an honor to share the new year with you and feel the warmth of our Jewish community! Thank…

  Shalom Friends, I learned something surprising recently and I’m curious about your reaction. In the Chassidic world, it is customary NOT to give a…

  Shalom Friends, Happy August! We are eagerly preparing for our busy fall season. I can’t wait to see you and hear all about your…

  Shalom Friends, I love being outside, especially during our “cool” Florida winter. Dinner on my porch and walking in the fresh air are two…

  Shalom Friends,   I am a crier.  I cry at graduations and at B’nai Mitzvah. I cry at the parades in Disney’s Magic Kingdom.…

  Shalom Friends,   You know I usually use this format to teach about some spiritual aspect of Judaism. But at this moment, I am…

  When we celebrated Passover by Zoom nine months ago, we never imaged we’d being doing the same for Thanksgiving let alone Hanukah.  And yet…

  Let’s continue our discussion of Community.  There are two teachings from our tradition that guide us on this topic. The first is: Al tifros…

July 2020 – Jewish Calendar  Thanks for joining me for this video about Jewish Spirituality. We are looking at some elements of Judaism that might…

June 2020 –     Jewish Spirituality of Israel Israel is a big subject to talk about in a few minutes. But we’re ambitious!  Let’s give…

  May 2020     Jewish Spirituality of Memory    We recently observed the holiday of Yom Hoshoah – Holocaust Remembrance Day. We are commanded to…